Beatles News
In 1964, George Harrison purchased his first home, a bungalow in Surrey, England. Living there started George’s interest in domesticity, although he didn’t quite live as he did at Friar Park, his second and last residence.
However, George quickly learned that there were some downsides to purchasing the property. His bungalow sat precariously close to an all-girls school. At the height of Beatlemania, that was not ideal.
George Harrison wearing white at his home in 1964.
Source: cheatsheet.com
Many have speculated about who is talking in the background and why – especially given the album’s significance. It was the last time all four members recorded together, as a band, in their original Abbey Road studio. If you listen carefully, around the 4:22 mark in “I Want You,” you can hear a “ghost vocal” right after John’s long yell. Originally, it was thought to be someone in the control room telling John that he was too loud. But no one would admonish John Lennon, and like most mysteries, the truth is a bit more complicated.
Source: twistedsifter.com
In 1963 The Beatles were still breaking through into the music industry around the world. Although their popularity was rapidly growing, they were only ever as good as the singles they were releasing. And for their second album, With The Beatles, they were hoping to release a slew of singles to bolster their popularity. During these recording sessions, they penned the song Hold Me Tight.
Hold Me Tight is a short and chaotic romp with harmonies that struggle to reach the mark from all four members of The Beatles. And the band themselves weren't happy with how this recording ended up.
Source: Callum Crumlish/express.co.uk
John Lennon‘s first wife, Cynthia Lennon, never stopped loving him. Even after a turbulent six-year marriage, she always looked after his interests. She kept up with what was going on in his life, long after he left her for Yoko Ono.
In 1985, Cynthia spoke about her relationship with John on NPR’s Fresh Air. She said she knew there was something about Yoko when they met at a meditation meeting.
“I met her actually when I came home from a holiday,” Cynthia said. “But I had seen her before; I mean I met her physically, you could say. She had been staying with John that night, and I came home and they were there, which was sort of curtains for our marriage, as far as all of us were concerned, really. But I had met her once before at a meditation meeting…
Source: cheatsheet.com
George Harrison relied heavily on Eastern philosophy. When he grew disenchanted with Western thinking, the East drew him in. Something in it connected with George and helped him understand himself and the world a little better.
In his 1980 memoir, I Me Mine, George said Chinese philosophy helped him write one of his biggest songs with The Beatles, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
“Around the time of writing ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ I had a copy of ‘I Ching,’ the Chinese classic ‘Book of Changes,’ which seemed to me to be based on the Eastern concept that everything is relative to everything else, as opposed to the Western view that things are merely coincidental,” George wrote.
Source: cheatsheet.com
In the world of the stereotypical debaucherous, womanizing, sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll lifestyle followed by so many in the music industry past and present, Paul and Linda McCartney were rarities. They were married for nearly 30 years from 1969 until 1998 and had three children together: Mary, Stella, and James, along with Linda's daughter Heather from her first marriage which ended in 1963, according to The New York Times. After meeting in 1967, the two quickly became inseparable.
Born Linda Eastman, Rolling Stone explains that Linda McCartney gained access to the inner circles of multiple celebrities working as a photographer in the 1960s. Early on in her career, she was persistent enough to get into a promotional event for the Rolling Stones wherein she was the only photographer present. By 1968, she became the first female photographer to shoot a Rolling Stone magazine cover.
Source: Anna Robinson/grunge.com
George Harrison and Ringo Starr had a special relationship. While John Lennon and Paul McCartney were writing most of the band’s songs, they left George and Ringo in the background. They wrote their own songs together and helped each other. Their collaboration only strengthened after The Beatles.
However, they worked together so much that George forgot that Ringo played on about two-thirds of his solo debut, All Things Must Pass.
In an interview with Rolling Stone radio (per the Daily Mail) in 2020, Ringo admitted that he “didn’t have the talent” to finish the songs on his debut solo album Sentimental Journey. So, he often turned to George for help.
Source: cheatsheet.com
Around 150 public radio channels across Europe will play "Give Peace a Chance" at 0745 GMT on Friday in solidarity against the war in Ukraine, the European Broadcasting Union announced.
The track, penned by John Lennon, will be heard in more than 25 countries including Ukraine, while European commercial radio stations will also join in the moment, the EBU said.
"This powerful call for peace through an iconic song will resonate with millions of listeners," said EBU director general Noel Curran.
The idea came from German public broadcaster RBB.
"The horrors of the war against Ukraine are more apparent every day. Our solidarity, our humanity and our support are needed," said RBB chief Patricia Schlesinger.
Source: Agence France-Presse/ndtv.com
Kendrick Lamar and Paul McCartney are the final headliners to be announced for this year’s Glastonbury festival, joining Billie Eilish. McCartney heads to Worthy Farm on Saturday, June 25, not long after wrapping his U.S. jaunt, with Lamar closing the stalwart British festival’s Pyramid Stage on the Sunday.
Other names in the announcement include Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde, Megan Thee Stallion, Kacey Musgraves, Big Thief, Haim, Charli XCX, Herbie Hancock, Phoebe Bridgers, Pet Shop Boys, the Avalanches, Caroline Polachek, Roísín Murphy, Black Midi, Caribou, St. Vincent, Cate le Bon, Foals, Jarv Is…, Doja Cat, Dry Cleaning, Idles, Courtney Barnett, Sleaford Mods, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Little Simz, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, Nubya Garcia, and Yves Tumor. Check out the bill so far, which also includes the previously announced Diana Ross, below. Many more acts for the sold-out festival will be announced in the coming months.
Source: Jazz Monroe/pitchfork.com
1965 album Rubber Soul changed the landscape of pop and rock music forever. You may know every word, but do you know these 14 frivolously fun facts about The Beatles’ 6th album?
Source: cracked.com
